Other than the obvious signs of a dog having had an intravenous treatment, like a shaved forelimb and a small puncture mark, I hadn’t really considered any other “side effects” such as the impact on a dog’s muscle tone and movement.

Last week, I treated a regular client who had spent a couple of days at the vet on a drip. This dog is typically active and has good mobility for a “mature” dog. However, after several days of immobilisation on a drip, he showed noticeable signs of lameness. He was not weight bearing normally on the fore limb into which the drip was inserted. At a walk and trot, the dog’s range of motion in the forelimb, particularly shoulder flexion when the leg is protracted, was noticeably reduced.

On palpation, the muscles throughout felt tight and “dry”, lacking hydration. They had also lost tone particularly in the hind quarters.

Most noticeable however was the tension and sensitivity in the neck and shoulder of the limb into which the IV had been administered. Normally, this dog has minor tension in this area with little or no sensitivity. However, at the last treatment, there was significant tension and discomfort in the trapezius (particularly the attachments on the cervical and thoracic vertebrae and throughout the muscle belly), deltoid, brachialis, and triceps.

Now, I am certainly not claiming that the IV treatment in anyway “caused” the muscle tension. Instead, I surmise that the dog has tensed in response to the discomfort and novelty of an IV drip being in his leg for several days. Combined with being largely immobile and confined for that time, this dog’s age and being unwell, muscle tension, joint stiffness and muscle atrophy is to be expected.

During the last treatment, I worked on relieving the muscle tension and discomfort and restoring range of motion to the affected shoulder. The treatment included:

• Massage – Due to the extreme sensitivity in the area, I started with very light massage to stimulate circulation to hydrate the soft tissue and inhibit pain receptors. Slowly and with regular breaks (where I treated other body areas), I was able to work more deeply to restore muscle tone.

• Shoulder mobilisation – Mobilisations gently loosened and stretched tendons on the shoulder girdle to initiate the relaxation response. Mobilisation of the scapula also allowed me to treat some of the deeper muscles of the shoulder.

• Passive range of motion moving into a stretch – PROM exercises focussed on protracting the fore limb (reaching forward away from the body) to provide a gentle stretch of the triceps and thoracic trapezius and lengthen muscle fibres that were contracted during the period of immobilisation.

At the end of the treatment, my client was resting comfortably. The muscle tone in the shoulder, particularly, was much improved and the dog no longer exhibited signs of discomfort in this area. His range of motion in the forelimb was also improved. I expect that with rest and light exercise, greater improvements will be observed.

This case really highlighted to me how, even a couple of days of immobilisation along with an IV treatment, can affect a dog’s muscle tone and range of motion so significantly.

Full Stride provides myofunctional treatments for dogs experiencing muscle tension, injury or stiffness. Treatments are offered in your home or at my clinic based on the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Please contact me to discuss how a treatment may relieve your dog’s symptoms.

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.